thermorex wrote:
Oh, I know what you're saying, while belt stretches or teeth get worn, the timing belt distance between belt teeth changes lightly, which modifies the position of sprockets relative to each other. The v tool is great, it can be manufactured by whoever needs to match it's length with the torque wrench, so it's easier to balance. The only issue is that 80some lbs/ft if I remember correctly, which is the torque for sprockets, can create some ballance issues in hand forces, which can make the cam shaft rotate a bit, which can create some tension in the lock pins and mess up the valve cover m10x1.0 thread where the locking pins go through. I had to use time sert to fix mine, I also suspect it may be the sealey pin messed up, since the other one is perfectly fine... Just a word of caution for whoever uses the v tool, you need to be very careful while torquing and untorquing the cam bolts and have an eye out for locking pin movement, which is an indicator the forces are not equal.
I know what you mean about unbalanced forces from your hands, and my answer to that is to use a big 30" torque wrench from Home Depot for the wrench part. It is just about the same size as the universal sprocket buster, so then all you need to do is watch the pulley and ensure that you are not rotating IT while you push from opposite sides on the sprocket buster and the torque wrench. What makes it a LOT easier and safer? DON'T REMOVE THE BELT OR THE TENSION before unlocking the camshaft bolts, and lock them up AFTER setting the initial tension on replacement. The teeth and tension on the belt will help a LOT in keeping everything solid, because you have your arm force PLUS the belt tension, PLUS the piston inertia (friction) all adding to keep that pulley from rotating while your other hand is the only thing wanting it and the bolt to move.
Yes, it is tricky, but that is the only way I can find to allow the pins to perfectly center the camshafts, and to allow the pulleys to be fully independent and match with whatever the belt wants it to do. The tool just doesn't perfectly line up on anybody, and it didn't seem to matter if the belt was old or new. Based on where the pins were the happiest and the crank was centered (3/6/9/12) and the fuel pump within 1/2 tooth of my sharpie after setting it (because you can't see the timing mark with the bolts in place, I set it and mark the housing, but that sharpie isn't super-precise)... Then the camshaft pulleys MUST be allowed to "find their happy place" against the belt without affecting the camshaft pins.
If the tool will slot-in perfectly, then great! But in my experience... It doesn't work that way. Which means that if you DID use the tool to force the pulleys to rotate slightly to where they did mesh with the tool... Maybe that would make the belt NOT as snug against the pulleys, and when you removed the tool after setting the bolts... It then pulled the camshafts slightly in either direction - against the pins. The timing wouldn't be perfectly centered anymore. Still within spec, sure... But "spec" allows you to be a whole tooth out of perfect and the engine will still run. Not happy, but it will run. But as the belt stretches in... Maybe that 1 tooth out becomes 1.3 teeth out, and the rockers start suffering.
I like it set where the pins have ZERO tension on them when the belt is tight and everything is locked. No tools to remove them, and no forces pushing them out of perfectly aligned. Then I know the timing is as perfectly centered as it can be.
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